These Days of Summer
by GoGoLexiRanger
Summary: Tess has gone through hell and come back better for it. She never thought that she would be friends with the very people that seemed to have hated her. But they helped her through the hardest time of her life, and now they're going to camp, one last time.
1. Prologue

1. Prologue:

_Third Person P.O.V._

"This is Melissa Chen with breaking celebrity news. Late last week Tess Tyler, daughter of Pop Superstar TJ Tyler was seen fleeing her Malibu home and heading to their airport without her mother. Tess was sporting two black eyes, and a large bruise and cut on her left cheek. It has since been reported that Tess was fleeing to her Grandmother's house in an undisclosed location in Delaware, where she is now filing charges of Domestic Violence, Domestic Abuse, and she is also filing for a change of custody which would allow her to live with her Grandmother full time. We will bring you more details as the come." One of the Celebrity news stations blared.

Caitlyn Gellar and her best friend Mitchie Torres were sitting in Mitchie's house watching one of the many reality shows that celebrities were involved in when this breaking news bulletin had come across the screen. Caitlyn and Mitchie had met two summers ago at a summer camp for up and comers in the Music and Dance industries, they had quickly become friends and now they were closer than ever. To help matters they discovered that they went to High Schools in the same county and only lived about twenty minutes away from each other.

Caitlyn looked at Mitchie with a look of total shock on her face and Mitchie mirrored it as well. Caitlyn and Tess had been best friends during their first few summers at Camp Rock but then things had gone down hill. Tess stopped playing guitar, dyed her hair as blonde as she could, and started acting exactly like her mom, a total bitch. That had been the way Tess was when Mitchie first met her. No one that had ever been close with her ever thought anything of it. They just assumed that she wanted to be more like her mom so she changed herself completely. Tess changed after the first summer that Mitchie spent at Camp Rock, Caitlyn noticed and saw her former best friend reverting back to her old self. But when she wanted to stay at Camp Rock and her mom wanted her to go to Camp Star, it ended in a fight and Tess going where she didn't want to be, and getting her heart broken by one Luke Williams, in the end Tess came back but she was different. She didn't want to talk to anyone about anything, and just kept to herself. After the summer was over she would send short emails to Mitchie and Caitlyn, and it just seemed like she was going through some stuff with her mom. The fact that she was now charging her own mother with abuse was a shock to the both of them.

"We need to be there for her." Mitchie said after she got through the shock of it all. "I know Tess hasn't always been the nicest person, but no one should have to go through that alone." She added looking at her best friend.

"Let me call her Grandma, I have an idea." Caitlyn said with a sneaky smile on her face. All the while thinking that this explained the change in Tess a few years ago perfectly. It also explained the various bruises and scars that Tess always had and had no explanation for. Caitlyn pulled out her cell phone and dial Tess's grandmother.

"Rebekah Anderson, may I ask who is calling." An old woman's voice said through the gravel of the phone.

"Hi Mrs. Anderson, this is Caitlyn Gellar, I used to come and stay with you during the summers with Tess." Caitlyn said with a soft smile and a friendly tone in her voice.

"Oh Caity! It has been so long since I have heard from you. No wonder you called, wanted to see how Tessie was doing no doubt, let me go get her and you can talk to her." Mrs. Anderson said with a happy tone in her voice.

"Um actually Mrs. Anderson, I didn't want to talk to Tess, I wanted to see if there is anyway tha't a few of Tess's friends could come up and stay with you all for a weekend." Caitlyn asked. It was then that Mitchie realized what the plan was and she pulled out her own phone and started to simultaneously call Shane, Nate, Jason, Ella, Peggy, Barron, and Sander.

"Oh sure sweetie, that's fine, do you want to come up this weekend, it is only Monday after all." Mrs. Anderson replied.

"That sounds great Mrs. Anderson, we just have to check with our parents and such and see who can come, but I will call you back with details. Oh and could you not tell Tess, we want it to be a surprise." Caitlyn finished.

"No problem, just try to call me back with all of that by Thursday so I can make sure we have enough food for everyone." Mrs. Anderson answered.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Anderson, hopefully we'll see you on Friday." Caitlyn said and hung up after she and Mrs. Anderson traded final good byes.

"You Cait, are a genius." Mitchie said with a smile in between phone calls. "Shane, Nate, and Jason, are definitly coming, Ella has to check with her mom, and I'm just calling Peggy now." Mitchie replied with a smile.

Even though none of them were emmensly close with Tess, they were going to be there for her when she needed someone the most.

* * *

><p><em>Tess's P.O.V.<em>

"Tessie there are some people here to see you." My grandmother shouted at me from where I was sitting on the back deck of her Beach house in Bethany Beach, Delaware. I was strumming my guitar trying to come up with words for a song but nothing would come.

"Grammy, if it's the press I don't want to talk to them." I started to say as I entered the house, if it was the press I was going to need to get inside quick.

I walked to the kitchen and didn't see the press sitting around the small kitchen table, instead I saw people that I was not expecting to see until next Summer at the earliest.

"You haven't seen all of us in less than a month and you already think we are the press. You need some help girl." Caitlyn said with a smile as she turned to me and gave me a hug.

Mitchie followed her and gave me a hug as well, and before I knew it, everyone was hugging me. Ella, Peggy, Nate, Shane, Jason, Sander, and Barron. And then they all went in for a large group hug that nearly crushed me.

"Why don't you all head out on the deck, there's more room out there than in here, and I'll bring you some chips and everything. Go on then Tessie show them the way." Grammy said to me with a soft smile. All of the food that she had bought this past week was now starting to make a lot more sense.

"Grammy you don't have to do that I can get all the food and everything." I replied. It wasn't that I didn't want to be around my almost friends, it was more of the fact that I needed a moment to realize what was happening.

"Tessie go, enjoy the beautiful weather, and show your friends to the porch now. I will bring snacks." Grammy said giving me a pointed look.

"Whatever you say Grammy." I replied with a strained smile. "It's right this way guys." I added as I started to walk out to the back porch, which over looks the water.

"Oh my God, this view is amazing." Shane said as he wrapped an arm casually around Mitchie, ever since the Camp Star v. Camp Rock Final Jam, Mitchie and Shane had been officially dating, and they had some how managed to keep it out of the press.

"Thanks. Grammy moved here when I was about three, right after Grampy and Dad died in a car accident. I used to spend every summer up here, even when I went to Camp Rock, but then Mom got in a fight with Grammy and I haven't been up here in nearly three years." I said sadly as I sat down in the chair that my guitar was resting in. "Now I don't mean to be rude, but why are you all here?" I asked a moment later after everyone had found seats and was sitting down around the larger table on the deck.

"When Cait and I saw the new bulletin on what was going on with you and your Mom, Caity came up with this great plan to come and visit you. None of us have the best history with you, but everyone here decided that you need people to be there for you and help you through this, and we decided that it would be us if you'll have us." Mitchie said, take on the role of spokesperson for the group.

I could feel tears start to swiftly make their way down my cheeks. The only person who had always been there for me no matter what was Grammy. Grampy and Dad had died when I was little right as Dad was fighting a huge custody battle with Mom. The fact that these people, none of whom I had ever been immensely close to save for one, were all willing to be there for me was just amazing to me.

"Thank you." I said as my tears came down faster and every last one of them swallowed me up in a big group hug as Grammy brought out chips and dip.

* * *

><p><strong>an: so that is the prologue just giving you the basics for the story, I know Tess seems OOC but that is kind of the point, showing a different side of her that the movies don't show. The next chapter will be the officially first chapter of this story. I hope you all enjoyed this, and please review! :)**

**xoxo,**

**Lexi**


	2. Stronger

2. Stronger:

Today was Mitchie and Caitlyn's respective last days of school. I had left Bethany around noon earlier today to pick both of them up. One of the perks of being home schooled is that I technically graduated from High School three months ago, which allowed me to audition for the programs I was planning on attending at NYU in the fall.

After a few hours of driving I pulled up in front of Caitlyn's private New Jersey high school. Mitchie and Caitlyn only live twenty minutes away from each other and their schools are roughly ten minutes away from each other, however Caitlyn goes to a private school which gets out an hour before Mitchie's public high school. So the plan was to pick up Caitlyn first, go buy some frozen yogurt for all three of us then go pick up Mitchie, stop at both of their houses, grab their bags for camp, and head back to Bethany for a few days of fun in the sun before heading to Camp Rock for most of the summer.

Ever since Mitchie, Caitlyn, Peggy, Ella, Shane, Nate, Jason, Sander, and Barron had all showed up at my house last summer offering to be there for me no matter what, I had changed back to my former self. My hair wasn't blonde any more, it was it's natural light brown. I had gone back to the floral prints I loved instead of the glam clothing choices that Mom adored. I was going to therapy at least once a week to get through the trauma of having my own mother beat me for years on end, and the trial between Mom and I was still on going. Her lawyers kept finding ways to bump it back to allow for her to tour and work on her music. My lawyer was allowing it for a moment, but only so her fans would see how much she didn't care about me, and hopefully cause her fan base to dwindle. I was back to being me, and ever since that summer day Mitchie, Caitlyn, and I had grown even closer, I now counted the two of them as my best friends.

I pulled into the parking lot of Caitlyn's private school and waited for the final bell to ring. I was waiting in one of the parking spots which was right at the front entrance where I knew Caity would see me and Grampy's old truck. Which Mitchie, Caitlyn, and I have lovingly named Sloppy Joe, or just Sloppy, because he is legitimately falling apart.

I heard the bell ring a few minutes after I pulled in and I waited patiently in Sloppy for Caitlyn to appear. After a few moments she did and the look on her face was priceless.

"Hey Caity." I said with a devilish smile pushing my aviators down slightly.

"Tess what are you doing here?" Caitlyn asked me as she got into the passenger side of the truck.

"Well Caity dear it is the last day of school and camp starts on Sunday technically so I am picking you up, we are going to go buy some frozen yogurt, pick up Mitchie, go back to both of your houses so you can get your stuff go to the beach and then go to camp. I've already cleared it with all of the parental units." I said with another devilish smile.

"You are so unstable." Caitlyn said with a laugh as she threw her school bag in the bed of the truck.

"And that is why you love me, well let's go, I'm gonna need to book it if we want to get frozen yogurt and get to Mitchie's school in time." I replied as I put the car in reverse.

* * *

><p>I drove about five miles over the speed limit to get to the frozen yogurt place and have enough time to order and get to Mitchie's school. Caitlyn and I got Vanilla for Mitchie, Black Cherry for Caitlyn, and Chocolate for me. Once we had all the frozen yogurts we headed back to the car and I sped away to Mitchie's school, we miraculously hit zero traffic and because of my slight speeding we arrived at Mitchie's school a half hour early.<p>

"Do you know what exam she has last block?" I asked Caitlyn. If it was something that was just a joke exam, as all senior exams apparently are, then I would have no problem pulling her out of class.

"I have no idea. It's probably better to just wait." Caitlyn replied as she started to slowly and sneakily eat her froze yogurt.

"I guess so, we have like fifteen minutes to go." I said as I found an appropriate radio station that just happened to be playing a Connect 3 song and blasted it as loud as I possibly could.

For the remainder of the time we waited in the car, three Connect 3 songs came on, and a few other songs that weren't very memorable. Oh and there were lots of commercials.

Final after fifteen minutes that felt like fifteen hours the final bell rang and Mitchie came parading out of school a few minutes later. Whilst listening to the boring radio Caitlyn and I had planned what we were going to do to surprise Mitchie. The two of us were sitting on the hood of Sloppy with the radio blaring. I was holding the frozen yogurts and Caitlyn and I were both wearing our sunglasses acting slightly disguised.

Mitchie walked around and almost headed to get onto her bus until she saw us. Caitlyn whistling obnoxiously probably helped on that note.

Mitchie walked over to us laughing with a curious look on her face.

"Just take the frozen yogurt, but your stuff in the bed, and get in the truck." I said with another devilish smile as I handed her the Vanilla frozen yogurt and a spoon.

Mitchie just laughed and got in the car after dropping her stuff in the bed. Once everyone was securely buckled again we sped off to Mitchie's house.

* * *

><p>"Is Grammy Anderson going to take a billion pictures of us today and tomorrow like she did before prom?" Mitchie asked me as we began the few hour drive from New Jersey to Delaware.<p>

Caitlyn and Mitchie both lovingly call Grammy, Grammy Anderson, because they are around her too much and too closer to her to call her Mrs. Anderson, so they ended up going with Grammy Anderson, and boy does Grammy love it. She says it makes her feel like she has more than one grandchild.

"Probably. She loves taking pictures of everything, and then making scrap books. You guys have to see the scrap book she made from all the prom pictures." I replied with a smile as I drove down one of the closer roads to Bethany.

For Caitlyn and Mitchie's respective senior proms, I came down from Bethany and went with them, Shane came up from L.A. to go with Mitchie, Sander and Barron came down from New York to be Caitlyn's date and my date respectively. Prom was a blast (we all went to Mitchie's because it was bigger), and Grammy took a bazillion pictures of us getting ready, us posing with our dates, us doing everything.

"Well we'll be there in it looks like ten minutes so, we'll see it then." Mitchie replied with a laugh as we pulled onto one of the roads that got us a lot closer to Grammy's house. "I can't wait until we get there." Mitchie added with a large smile on her face. "We get one and a quarter days of sun and surf, doing nothing except chilling with each other and Grammy Anderson, and then we get to go to camp, and have the best summer of our lives before college. How could anyone not be excited about that?" Mitchie asked rhetorically in an excited tone.

"I don't know Mitch. It's kind of sad if you think about it." I began as I turned Sloppy onto the road that Grammy's house is on. "I mean you two both get to have a ball at Julliard together next year, but some of us aren't going to Julliard. Shane is going to be in L.A. the whole time working on his music with Nate and Jason. Sander, Ella, and Peggy, are going to UCLA, and Barron and I are going to be at NYU. At least the three of us will be in the same city, but still, this is our last summer before all of our lives start to get really crazy." I finished as I pulled into the drive way.

"You worry too much Tess. We are all still going to go back to Camp Rock once college starts, even if it's just for a weekend to do a work shop or sing at a jam. Camp Rock is a part of us and without Camp Rock none of us would be where we are right now, and where we will be in the future." Caitlyn began as she and Mitchie started to gather their bags from the bed of the truck.

"Which as we have already discussed. Connect 3 will go down in history as the most successful boy band ever, and they will continue to age gracefully until at the ripe old ages of 55, 53, and 51 they will preform at the Super Bowl and then start a reality TV show looking for the next celebrity boy band. Shane and I will get married and have three or four children, Nate will realize that Dana is a stupid poser and will dump her and get back together with Caitlyn. Caity will by that time be a stellar record producer who will produce my best selling music and yours Tessie, and Cait will act uninterested for awhile before finally accepting Nate's offer of going out. They'll get married a year or two later. You Tess, will be a best selling singer, and an actress on the side, getting your start in acting in musical theater. Jason will get married to Peggy. Ella will become an all star choreographer, and Peggy will be a Grammy winning songwriter for all genres. Sander will become a choreographer and will work with Ella, doing guest rapping on the side with Barron, at underground rap battles, and eventually he and Ella will get together, but they won't get married for a few years. Barron will become a rapper and an R&B singer and he and Tess will continue to become best friends until their mid twenties, which will be when they realize that they like each other and they'll start dating and get married before they hit thirty-five. Any questions?" Mitchie asked with a laugh as we headed to the front door.

"Yes." I began as I put my house key in the lock of the front door. "What drugs are you on exactly?"

My question lead to the three of us laughing like crazy. Mitchie had a crazy imagination, well crazy is an understatement, but it was really entertaining listening to what she envisioned for all of our futures.

"There are my girls!" Grammy shouted as we entered, and we were all attacked by so many hugs that none of us could breath by the time that she finished.

* * *

><p>"Are you doing okay darling?" Grammy asked me the next afternoon.<p>

Mitchie and Caitlyn were off enjoying the waves of the Atlantic ocean, and I was sitting on our huge beach blanket with my guitar writing a song. My notebook filled with lyrics plopped open in front of me. I have issues with water, major issues. The easiest way to explain it is that I am immensely hydrophobic. Whenever my therapist even tries to bring it up, I shut down and I can't talk about it, I start to have a panic attack just thinking about swimming most times. Cait and Mitch know this, as do all of my friends, so whenever they go into the water they know I'm not offended, that I just can't handle water.

"I'm doing fine Grammy." I replied with a soft smile as I continued to strum the guitar. I almost had this song completely done. I knew that once I had it, it was going to be my Opening Night Jam song. It was a perfect way to show everyone that I wasn't immensely close with that I had gone through hell, come back, and was a better person for it.

"I worry about you sometimes sweetie, I'm glad that you have all of them, Caitlyn, Mitchie, Shane, Nate, Jason, Ella, Peggy, Barron, and Sander, but when you're alone just you and your guitar you get this look on your face sometimes sweetie. You look so sad, and so alone. It makes me worry." Grammy answered as she stroked my now brown hair back behind my ear.

"Oh Grammy." I said as I gave my grandmother the biggest hug I could muster.

She worried about me so much, and she had worried about me so much for years. Trying to somehow win custody of me, knowing that she wasn't going to even be able to get a trial unless I came to her willingly. So she wrote me hundreds of letters, each one I would sneak out of the trash when Mom was out partying to read, and not even attempt to reply to because I knew it would mean more trouble, more bruises, more cuts, more scars. Grammy knew it to. In every letter she told me not to reply, just to come back to her someday. And now that I had, she had this look in her eye that she didn't know if I was just going to up and leave, go back to Mom and never return. But I knew I wouldn't, because I was stronger now. I had broken the chain of the abuse, and I was so proud of myself for that, I had decided at that moment when I left my old house in Malibu for home (Bethany has always been my home, I just would never allow myself to admit it), that I wasn't going to let Mom push me around anymore, I wasn't going to come back to her and that hell hole ever again. I was proud of that decision, how strong I was to make that decision and remain with it, that it had become rooted in my personality I was so much stronger now than I had ever been in my life.

"What is that look on your face for Tessie?" Grammy asked curiously, but almost in a tone of 'I honestly don't want to know, why am I asking?'.

In my thoughts I had realized something, the perfect thing, the perfect word to make this song make sense, to make this mess of lyrics work.

"I just figured out how to write this song." I said with an incredibly happy smile that made Grammy laugh.

"Just like when you were little, you would run around the house singing the silliest songs with the happiest tone in your voice with your Daddy's way too big for you guitar, you were so cute I could just eat you up." Grammy said with a laugh reminiscing; as I started to play the cords on the guitar with more accuracy and started to jot things down on my notebook, making the scattered words into real lyrics.

I sat there with only the hum of the crowd at the beach and the cords of the guitar playing with Grammy for awhile, every time I figured something out musical I was quick to write it down as not to forget it. All the time that I was playing I was humming the lyrics softly so only I could hear them. This song was almost done, and I knew the feelings that I would get after performing it, would be so worth it, I could just feel it in my bones.

"How was the water girls?" Grammy asked.

I looked up from my guitar and saw that Caitlyn and Mitchie were both soaking wet, and sitting down right in front of me and my guitar. I quickly closed my notebook and put the pen in my beach bag. I love Caitlyn and Mitchie to death but now that I almost had the song perfect, I wanted them to have to wait along with everyone else to hear it completely when I first preformed it.

"Amazing!" Caitlyn said with a smile. "It was so warm, and the waves are great. Have you been working like a little worker bee on that song?" She turned and asked me as she attempted to partially dry her hair with a towel.

"Yupp." I began with a smile as I looked up at the two of them and moved my guitar over to where my beach bag was. "I've just about got it."

"Are you going to sing it for us then?" Mitchie asked with a happy look on her face that was also anxious and expectant.

Mitchie and Caitlyn knew that I had been working on getting this song perfect since Christmas, with zero luck. The fact that I now had it almost completely done was something that made the two of them way more excited than it should've.

"No. You two are going to have to wait for the Opening Night Jam to hear it." I said with my now almost signature devilish grin.

"Come on Tessie, give them a little bit of a sneak peak, just the chorus or something." Grammy pleaded. I knew that she wanted to hear this song badly as well. She had been just a big a part of my writing process as Mitchie and Caitlyn had, if not bigger.

"Fine but just the chorus." I said with a smirk as I pulled my guitar back over to me. I started to play the verse before the chorus and once I got to the part of the music that was actually the chorus I began to sing:

"_And I'm done hoping that we could work it out  
>I'm done with how it feels, spinning my wheels<br>Letting you drag my heart around  
>And, oh, I'm done thinking that you could ever change<br>I know my heart will never be the same  
>But I'm telling myself I'll be okay<br>Even on my weakest days  
>I get a little bit stronger<em>_ "_

Mitchie, Caitlyn, and Grammy all looked at me with huge grins as I put my guitar back over on top of my beach bag once I finished singing. I could see a few tears slowly coming down Grammy's cheek, I knew that they were proud and understanding tears. The tears of a grandmother who had seen her only grandchild go through so much pain and some how come out stronger for it, and she was proud of that strength.

"That was amazing Tess." Mitchie said with a soft and convincing smile.

"It really was." Caitlyn added with an equally supportive smile.

"I'm so proud of you sweetheart." Grammy said with a smile. She whipped away the soft tears that had started to flow down her cheeks and gave me a hug that I returned with just as much love as she was putting in it. I was stronger now, and I was not going to let anything make me weaker.

* * *

><p><strong>an: so that is the first full chapter! Yay! So what if it's only slightly longer than the prologue, that is just a minor detail! Psh! The chorus is from the song "A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans, it is a wonderful song, and it will be showing up again. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Please review!**

**xoxo**

**Lexi**


	3. Opening Night Jam

3. The Opening Night Jam:

"This place is so empty." Mitchie said as Sloppy pulled into the camper parking lot at Camp Rock.

We had left the house at 7 that morning to make sure that we could get here by noon (one at the latest), it was 12:30 now, and we had just gotten hear. The camp was a ghost town. No one was here. Mitchie's mom, who is still doing the catering wasn't even here yet.

"Hopefully Brown's here so we'll know which cabin we are officially in." Caitlyn replied.

The cabin assignments aren't followed very strictly here, it usually ends up being a first come first serve type of thing. However the girls side of camp and the boys side of camp moves around a little bit each year depending on how many people of each gender are coming, so it is a good rule of thumb to check with Brown first and then pick a cabin.

"Well let's go to the main cabin then. We can leave the stuff in the bed, no one is going to take it, and if they do, I can still pull the bitch out." I replied with my devilish smile.

The three of us left our stuff in the bed of the truck and walked off to Brown's cabin which was right behind the Mess Hall. It took us maybe five minutes to get there, we managed to peak in the window of the office before entering, Nate, Shane, and Jason were already in there talking to Shane's uncle.

"We aren't going to knock are we?" Mitchie asked rhetorically as well continued to spy on the boys and Brown.

"Nope." Caitlyn and I said at the same time. Which resulted in Mitchie just shaking her head and trying to suppress a laugh.

Tess, Mitchie, and I started added way too much make up to my lightly made up face. Mitchie and Caitlyn also started to pull out the most random jewelry out of their own purses and put it on me, to make me look like good old glam, fake, Tess again. As much as I hate to think about those days, when it is appropriate and so obviously a joke, it is fun to dress like I did back then.

"Bringing out the bitch again?" A voice said.

Mitchie, Caitlyn, and I turned around as fast as we could to see who the voice belonged to. Sure enough is was Sander that had said it and he was with Barron.

"Yup." I replied with a smile. "Alright girls I think we're ready." I said with another smile as I turned to look at Mitchie and Caitlyn.

They both nodded in agreement and the three of us headed towards the door. Barron and Sander followed behind us laughing in anticipation of what was about to happen.

"Alright let's go girls." I said with my devilish smile as I mentally prepared myself for what I was about to do. "CAITLYN! I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME!" I shouted as loud as I possibly could in as bitchy of a tone that I could muster as we entered Brown's office.

"RELAX TESS! I ACCIDENTALLY GOT YOU THE WRONG KIND OF COFFEE AT STARBUCKS, RELAX! IT IS JUST COFFEE WOMAN!" Caitlyn shouted back trying to suppress laughter.

"THAT WASN'T YOU CAITLYN! THAT WAS MITCHIE! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO GOT ME TWO BIG MACS AT MCDONALDS AND EXPECTED ME TO EAT BOTH OF THEM PLUS THE LARGE FRY AND THE MILKSHAKE YOU GOT ME!" I shouted back. I was actually perfectly happy to eat the two Big Macs, large fry, and milkshake when we went to McDonald's the other day. I have no issues with food, you only get one life to live so you might as well have as much food as you possibly can. "JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE HAPPY TO BE A SIZE 12 THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I AM. I AM PERFECTLY HAPPY BEING A SIZE ZERO EVEN IF THAT MEANS I CAN'T EVER EAT PROPERLY!" I shouted even louder.

This argument was filled with falsities. Cailtyn is not a size 12, she's more of a happy size 5 that has no problems with it. Plus there is nothing wrong with being a size 12, that size is the average size of women in America, and is perfectly acceptable.

"YOU KNOW WHAT TESS! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M FRIENDS WITH YOU! ALL YOU'VE EVER DONE IS BE MEAN TO ME AND STEAL AWAY MY BOYFRIEND!" Caitlyn shouted as she threw a subtle wink at Sander which lead to him coming over to me and grabbing my hand.

"SANDER CHOSE ME BECAUSE HE LOVES ME! HE NEVER LOVED YOU!" I shouted back. This was getting very intense and I was fighting very hard to hold back my laughter.

"Tess, Caitlyn, just calm down." Brown began. Caitlyn and I however continued to fight coming up with completely invalid arguments and getting louder and louder. "GIRLS! SHUT UP!" Brown finally shouted loudly and slightly annoyed.

Caitlyn and I both silenced ourselves and looked around, Sander, Barron, Mitchie, Caitlyn, and I were all suppressing laughs. Brown looked genuinely pissed, and Shane, Nate, and Jason had moved to a corner because they couldn't hold in their laughs any longer than they already had.

"And scene." Caitlyn and I said together once everyone had stirred in the awkward silence long enough. This caused everyone, even Brown (though he was more hesitant) to start laughing.

"You two are going to be the death of me I swear." Brown said as he shook his head. "Why did you lot decide to come in here and cause a scene anyway?" He asked after he stopped shaking his head and laughing.

"We just watched to check and see what cabins we have to choose from this year." Mitchie replied with a smile as Shane walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Here as a map with the boundaries. Have at it." Brown said with a smile as he gave Mitchie, Caitlyn, and I a map of the camp.

We all looked down at the map and chose a cabin. We picked one of the ones that has a parking space right behind it so that way I could pull Sloppy around and park right behind it.

"Mitchie, Cait, why don't y'all go make sure we get the cabin and I'll go get Sloppy and pull him around. Anyone else wanna dumb their crap in my truck and I can dump it at your cabin?" I asked the guys.

"We already have or stuff in our cabinn." Shane began, speaking for all the Connect 3 boys. "But Sander and Barron need to put their stuff in their too." He finished with a smile.

Last summer Barron, Sander, Shane, Nate, and Jason had all gotten pretty close and they now consider themselves good friends. It was only natural that they would all be sharing a cabin this year.

"Do you boys want a ride then?" I asked Sander and Barron.

"I actually want to go and scope out this cabin first. Barron do you wanna ride with Tess and take the stuff?" Sander asked his best friend.

"Sure San." Barron began. Barron then walked over to where he and Sander's bags were resting just outside of the cabin. "Alright Tessie, where is your truck?" He asked me with a smile.

"Follow me." I answered.

We waved goodbye to Caitlyn, Mitchie, Sander, Shane, Nate, Jason, and Brown, and headed towards the parking lot where Sloppy was parked with all of our stuff in the bed. Once we reached the truck Barron started to fling suit cases and duffel bags into the bed of the truck and I helped him. Once all the bags were in I walked around to the drivers side and Barron joined me in the passenger's side. I started the car and began to drive off to the new cabin.

"Good to see that Untidy Joseph isn't completely dead yet." Barron joked using his own nickname for my car.

"Yeah by some miracle. Grammy keeps telling me that I should go and buy a new car, I have money for it. I just don't want to buy a new car until I have to." I replied as I drove around camp trying to find the cabin listed on the map.

Sloppy Joe was my Dad's truck once upon a time. And I was not going to sell him or buy a new car until I absolutely have to. I am probably going to end up spending more money on repairs on this truck than I would buying a state of the art new car, but it doesn't matter, it's the principle of a thing, not the actual thing.

"Perfectly understandable. As soon as my Dad gets a new car I get his old beat up Civic that is going to last forever. Man I love that car." Barron said with a laugh. "Hey Tessie, I think that's your cabin." He added a few moments later as I almost passed by a cabin that had Mitchie and Caitlyn sitting out on the front porch.

"I do believe you are right Barron. Do you want to help with getting all of our crap out of the bed?" I asked Barron as I pulled the truck around to the back of the cabin to park it.

"Of course m'lady." Barron said as he got out of the truck, ran around to the driver's side, opened the door for me and bowed jokingly.

"Why thank you good sir." I replied with a laugh as I took the hand Barron offered to help me down, and we began to unpack the bed of the truck.

I went to grab a bag that Barron had put on the ground. Barron however promptly stopped me a swatted my hand away.

"No, no, Fair Lady Tess, I will move all of the luggage into the cabin for you and your dear friends." Barron said and he gently pushed me away. I laughed and went back to trying to get bags and take them into the cabin. "TESS! STOP!" Barron ended up shouting eventually. "You are ruining my evil mastermind plan to prove that chivalry isn't dead!" He added. Barron then picked me up and took me to the front porch of the cabin putting me down in one of the rocking chairs. "Now Fair Lady Tess, stay here until I come to get you again. Here is your guitar so you can play it for I know that is your heart's wish." Barron finished and he started to go off to the back of the cabin where Sloppy was parked.

"Barron! You need to stop watching Faerie Tale movies, the Princess Bride, and Ever After!" I shouted at him as he started to leave.

"Don't deny that you love it Tessie!" He shouted back as he disappeared from view.

"Such a strange, strange boy." I said shaking my head to Caitlyn and Mitchie.

"Oh you know you find it strangely adorable." Caitlyn replied with a smile and a slight laugh.

"And you know that he would do anything just to see a smile on your face." Mitchie added with her own laugh.

"He's a really good friend." I answered with a slight smile as I started to strum my guitar.

* * *

><p>"Are you ready Mitch?" I asked Mitchie later that night.<p>

Everyone had arrived at camp slowly through out the day. Shane, Nate, Jason, Mitchie, Caitlyn, Barron, Sander, and I had just been chilling in our cabin all day, singing random songs, eventually Peggy and Ella had arrived which caused an uproar of moving bags, picking beds, and catching up. Other campers showed up as well and waved to us from our cabin or stopped by to say hi or see how we were all doing. The newer campers stopped by to talk to the Connect 3 boys because they still couldn't get over the fact that a huge music selling sensation was at a summer camp instead of out touring.

It was now time for the Opening Night Jam, which as usual was taking place in the mess hall. Lola had already performed a dance song that had gotten all of us moving, Peggy and Ella had song a song together, a rarity that was adorable and showcased their friendship perfectly. Now it was Mitchie's turn, after Mitchie, it was my turn, and after me, Barron is planned to close the show. My anxiety level was slowly climbing, as it always does before I perform, but right now Cait and I were focusing on Mitchie, who would be performing in just a few moments.

"I'm fine guys, really, I've preformed so much these past two years I'm an old pro at it. I don't even get slightly nervous anymore." Mitchie replied with a smile as Caitlyn and I played with her hair making sure that it looked perfect.

"And next up we have Mitchie Torres, singing a song she wrote herself, called 'Brand New Day', come on up here and sing your heart out love." Brown said with a smile introducing Mitchie.

"Wish me luck." Mitchie said with a smile as she headed up to the stage area of the mess hall, with Caitlyn right behind her to play the audio track on her laptop through the speakers.

"Luck." I replied with a wink.

Mitchie just laughed back at me. She walked up and successfully stood on the stage part, took the microphone from Brown and mentally prepared herself to sing. She gave Caitlyn the thumbs up and she began to play the audio track. After a few moments Mitchie began to sing:

"_Ohh ohh  
>Last years old news<br>I'm breaking out my six string  
>And playing from my heart<br>It's not deja vu  
>Cause it's another summer<br>That's how this chapter starts  
>I'm gonna run so fast 'til I can't breathe<br>Come along and follow me  
>Let's make some noise we never did before<br>It's a brand new day  
>(Don't you see me)<br>Changing on my way  
>(So completely)<br>This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it  
>This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit<br>It's a brand new day  
>And I'm feelin' good<br>And I'm feelin' good  
>So drama free (so drama free)<br>I'm all about the music  
>I just wanna sing<br>Watch me live out my dreams  
>I'm gonna rock that stage and give my everything<br>I'm gonna dance until my feet can't move  
>Come along get in the groove<br>Let's shine so brigh more than we did before  
>It's a brand new day<br>(Don't you see me)  
>Changing on my way<br>(So completely)  
>This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it<br>This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit  
>It's a brand new day<br>And I'm feelin' good!  
>(What you gonna do? What you gonna do?)<br>I'm gonna laugh through the summer with you  
>(Who you gonna be? Who you gonna be?)<br>You'll just have to watch me carefully  
>(Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?)<br>Anywhere my heart wants me to go  
>I'm gonna sing I'm gonna dance<br>I'm gonna ride I'm gonna play  
>I'm gonna try my game in everything<br>Cause It's a brand new day  
>(Don't you see me)<br>Changing on my way  
>(So completely)<br>This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it  
>This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit<br>It's a brand new day  
>It's a brand new day<br>(It's a brand new day)  
>Changing on my way<br>(Changing on my way)  
>This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it (gonna hear it)<br>This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit (got the spirit)  
>It's a brand new day<br>(It's a brand new day)  
>It's a brand new day<br>And I'm feelin' good  
>Feelin' good<br>And I'm feelin' good" _ Mitchie sang the last notes of the song, and everyone applauded her like crazy.

This shy little girl had grown so much in the past two years. The whole time that she was singing she was moving around the stage dancing like crazy interacting with everyone. There had been a time where Mitchie was afraid to even sing in front of anyone not doing anything, and now here she was dancing up and down the stage with no fear. Everyone who had known her during her first summer was brimming with pride.

"That was amazing Mitch!" Caitlyn and I said together when Mitchie walked back over to where I was standing with my guitar, and where Caitlyn had jogged to after she had started the audio track for Mitchie.

"Thanks guys." Mitchie said with a happy smile that made everyone else around her smile. She is just one of those people that radiates happiness. "Are you okay Tessie, you don't look so hot." Mitchie asked as she turned to look at me after Caitlyn and I attacked her with hugs.

"Not really. This song is all of this bottled up emotion in it, emotion that I haven't really talked to anyone other then my therapist yet. I'm just nervous about it. I'm literally spilling my soul in it, talking about everything that I've been through and how I've changed it, and I know I'm going to end up crying during it, and I just don't want to deal with that. I hate crying." I replied as I nervous moved my guitar around in my hands.

"Tess you are going to do amazing. And yes you are going to cry, but it will be okay." Caitlyn reassured as she and Mitchie gave me a joint hug.

"Now we have Miss Tess Tyler, singing an original song named 'A Little Bit Stronger', come on Tess, you're up." Brown said over the microphone.

"Go on girl. Knock 'em dead." Mitchie said with a smile as she and Caitlyn gave me one last hug.

I walked up to the stage area alone, along the way my friends gave me supportive smiles. Shane, Nate, and Jason made funny faces at me. Ella and Peggy gave me huge caring smiles, Sander started to dance with my jokingly as I headed up to the stage, and Barron just gave me his own soft, classic, reassuring smile, that he knows puts me at ease.

Once I reached the stage I pulled a stool from the edge and brought it to the center. I put the microphone I took form Brown into a mic stand and moved it so it was right in front of the stool. I sat down on the stool propped my guitar up and prepared myself for this. I looked around the crowded mess hall and saw everyone's supportive smiles, and I started to strum my guitar to the music of the song. After a few cords it was time for me to start singing...

"_Woke up late today and I still feel the sting of the pain  
>But I brushed my teeth anyway<br>I got dressed through the mess and put a smile on my face  
>I got a little bit stronger<br>Riding in the car to work and I'm trying to ignore the hurt  
>So I turned on the radio, stupid song made me think of you<br>I listened to it for minute but I changed it  
>I'm getting a little bit stronger, just a little bit stronger<br>And I'm done hoping that we could work it out  
>I'm done with how it feels, spinning my wheels<br>Letting you drag my heart around  
>And, oh, I'm done thinking that you could ever change<br>I know my heart will never be the same  
>But I'm telling myself I'll be okay<br>Even on my weakest days  
>I get a little bit stronger<br>Doesn't happen overnight but you turn around  
>And a month's gone by and you realize you haven't cried<br>I'm not giving you a hour or a second or another minute longer  
>I'm busy getting stronger<em>

_And I'm done hoping that we can work it out_

_I'm done with how it feels, spinning my wheels_

_Letting you drag my heart around  
>And, oh, I'm done thinking, that you could ever change<br>I know my heart will never be the same  
>But I'm telling myself I'll be okay<br>Even on my weakest days, I get a little bit stronger  
>I get a little bit stronger<br>Getting along without you, Mom  
>I'm better off without you, Mom<br>How does it feel without me, Mom?  
>I'm getting stronger without you, Mom<br>And I'm done hoping we could work it out  
>I'm done with how it feels, spinning my wheels<br>Letting you drag my heart around  
>And, oh, I'm done thinking that you could ever change<br>I know my heart will never be the same  
>But I'm telling myself I'll be okay<br>Even on my weakest days  
>I get a little bit stronger<br>I get a little bit stronger  
>Just a little bit stronger<br>A little bit, a little bit, a little bit stronger  
>I get a little bit stronger"<em>

The moment that I stopped singing I played the last cords to the song and tried to not notice the tears that where coming down my eyes like crazy. Everyone was silent for a moment after I finished, but after that moment they burst into applause.

Shane, Jason, Nate, Ella, Peggy, Sander, Mitchie, Barron, and Caitlyn all came rushing up to the stage area and gave me huge hugs. Mitchie handed me a tissue that I used to wipe my tears away and off my face as much as I could. This was difficult because they kept coming.

When I started to get up and head back to where I was standing, Barron stopped me by gently pushing me down and grabbing the microphone.

"Hey guys, now I know that must of you have always thought of Tess as I kind of mean person, but she really isn't, she has been through a lot, which is why she is crying right now, it is now my goal and has been for the past year, to make her smile no matter what the personal cost to me. I just wanted to say that before I start singing this song. It's one of my own and it's called I'm Yours."Barron began.

He put the microphone back in the stand shooed everyone else off the stage, took my guitar from me, and took one of the headsets from the table. He put on the headset, put on my guitar and started to play it. I have to admit I was slightly nervous, because I had no idea what he was going to do.

Barron started to sing slowly:

"_Well you've done done me and you bet I felt it  
>I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted<br>I fell right through the cracks  
>and now I'm trying to get back<br>Before the cool done run out  
>I'll be giving it my bestest<br>Nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention  
>I reckon its again my turn to win some or learn some<br>I won't hesitate no more, no more  
>It cannot wait, I'm yours<br>Well open up your mind and see like me  
>Open up your plans and damn you're free<br>Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love  
>Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing, we're just one big family<br>It's our God-forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved loved  
>So I won't hesitate no more, no more<br>It cannot wait I'm sure  
>There's no need to complicate<br>Our time is short  
>This is our fate, I'm yours<br>Do you want to, come on, scootch over closer dear  
>And I will nibble your ear<br>I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror  
>And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer<br>But my breath fogged up the glass  
>And so I drew a new face and I laughed<br>I guess what I'll be saying is there ain't no better reason  
>To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons<br>It's what we aim to do  
>Our name is our virtue<br>But I won't hesitate no more, no more  
>It cannot wait, I'm yours<br>Well open up your mind and see like me  
>Open up your plans and damn you're free<br>Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours  
>so please don't, please don't, please don't.<br>There's no need to complicate  
>'cause our time is short<br>This oh, this oh, this is our fate, I'm yours." _

Barron finished singing and handed me back my guitar. The whole time that he had been singing he had been acting out the parts of the song and goofing off with me, all just trying to make me smile. He had succeeded many times. As everyone applauded him, I could tell by the looks on their faces that they didn't know he could actually sing, they just thought that he was a pretty face, a good dancer, and an excellent rapper. They had no idea he could sing and write his own songs. Hell, I hadn't known until last summer when all of them appeared on Grammy's doorstep.

"Thank you." I whispered into Barron's ear as I gave him a hug. "You succeeded in making me smile, many, many times." I added with a laugh.

"Well that was the goal." Barron replied with his own rich laugh as I pulled away from the hug.

"That was a great Opening Night Jam! Remember classes start tomorrow, so head off to your cabins! You don't want to make a bad first impression!" Brown said with a smile as he sent us all of to bed.

All ten of us (Shane, Nate, Jason, Sander, Barron, Ella, Peggy, Caitlyn, Mitchie, and I) plus Dana (she was going to Camp Rock this summer, she somehow convinced her dad to let her) started to walk back to our cabins together.

All the while Barron was doing crazy things just to make me smile again. For some reason that boy loved making me smile. Not that I had any complaints, the things that he did to make me smile were genuinely entertaining, and he like all of the others (minus Dana, there is something about that girl that I do not trust) had surprised me, by showing up in Delaware that day. They all had their own little personality quirks that I never would've expected. Caitlyn loves to write songs but she hates to sing them herself, Mitchie hates feet with a fiery passion, Peggy loves to write power ballads just as much as she loves to write catchy pop songs, Ella is actually a certified genius and goes to one of the most prestigious private schools in the country, Sander loves little kids, and he works as a ballet instructor and a dance instructor for little kids, Shane hates tour buses, Jason loves going to the Zoo, Nate has issues with cheese, and Barron along with doing anything to make me smile, just loves to see other people happy.

As we all walked back to our respective cabins together, our laughter filled the camp. The happiness I felt in those moments was overwhelming, and when I thought just for a moment about how this was our last legitimate summer at Camp Rock, Barron did something funny again and I forgot right away.

* * *

><p><strong>an: I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it! The songs in this chapter were "Brand New Day" from Camp Rock 2, "A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans, and "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. Thank you to everyone that has reviewed this. This chapter is dedicated to my best friend, IcePrincess013, aka Meg, you are my bestest friend on this coast, in this time zone, and your 17th birthday better be amazing, especially because I've been at your house all day! (yes we write fanfiction and read it while we are at each other's houses) Love ya Meggy! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, and remember to review!**

**xoxo,**

**Lexi**


	4. Count On Me

4. Count On Me:

The Opening Night Jam had given Camp Rock a jump start like no other. In previous years the Opening Night Jam has always been a fun event, but for some reason this year, it made people go crazy and start working immensely hard for the Final Jam. We had only had one week of camp courses/classes so far, and already I was starting to feel the pressure of finding the perfect song for the Final Jam, for my final Final Jam.

"I'm going to split you into pairs to work on a project for the next few days. It will be do next Wednesday, which should be enough time. Now let me work out the pairs. Sander and Peggy, Ella and Nate, Jason and Mitchie, Caitlyn and Shane, Barron and Tess, Rebekah and Lucille, Jenny and Lukas, Dana and Erik, Charlotte and David, and Johnny and Tom." Brown said during the Songwriting class as he pointed to each of the members of the pairs. "Now you and your partner are going to work together to write a song. This song can be about anything, it can be about birds, or the sun, or whatever you bloody hell want it to be about. It just needs to be written in it's entirety by you and your partner, and it needs to be a duet. Which you and your partner will sing at the Campfire Jam, which is next Friday. I want you to have the songs done by next Wednesday however, so you can get any fine tuning help if you need it. No need to stay here and do it. Have at it." Brown finished with a smile.

The various pairs started to head to different spots in the room. Caitlyn and Shane had settled themselves in a corner and were laughing. Sander and Peggy had already left the cabin to head for somewhere else, probably somewhere with a keyboard knowing Sander and knowing Peggy. Mitchie and Jason went to a corner near Shane and Caitlyn. Ella and Nate headed out to one of the guitar practice rooms. Dana had a snooty look on her face and headed outside with Erik, who looked happy with his pairing, simply because Dana is the daughter of a Rock God.

"Let's go outside, to the amphitheater." I said to Barron with a smile. I love the acoustics outside, and on that amphitheater, they are just so unbelievably good that they are hard not to love.

"Hey, I was just about to say that!" Barron replied with a laugh and a happy grin.

I stuck my tongue out at him and we picked up both of our respective acoustic guitars and headed out of the class room and down one of the paths to the amphitheater.

Apparently a lot of other people in our class had gotten the same idea as us, and the amphitheater was crowded and filled with people. One of the junior camper dance classes was also on the amphitheater stage, filling it to every possible inch. Making it impossible for Barron and I to work on our song there.

"That's a bummer." Barron said as the two of us began to turn away from the amphitheater and walk around the camp aimlessly. "Hey why don't we go down to the docks and work on the song?" Barron asked me in a slightly anxious tone.

I could feel my body start to shake slowly at the thought of being near the water of the large lake separating Camp Rock and what used to be Camp Star. I could feel my muscles start to tighten as they shook, bracing themselves for the panic attack that may or may not come.

"Tess, breath. It will be okay, I'm not asking you to go and learn how to swim, you don't even have to touch the water, we'll just sit on the dock, play the guitars and figure out the song. No danger involved. We can sit on the shore near the canoes if you really want to. It's just a good thinking spot." Barron added looking me in the eyes. His chocolate brown eyes trying to calm down my light blue ones with everything they had.

"Fine. But if my pinky toe even gets slightly wet, I will never forgive you." I answered, completely serious.

Barron nodded and the two of us started to walk over to the docks. It took us about three minutes to get there, no one was there at all which is just strange to begin with, but I could tell by the look on Barron's face that he wasn't one to complain. Barron loves the water, every time he would come up to visit me in Bethany, we would go down to the beach and he would basically stay in the Ocean the whole time. Which makes it slightly ironic that we are become such good friends, because he loves the water and I hate it.

Once at the docks we walked up and sat down on one of them. I sat on the edge next to Barron, and Barron was now the only one holding a guitar. We had stopped by my cabin and put my guitar away on the way here, we really only needed one guitar to write a song.

"Alright so what should we write this song about?" I asked Barron after I had taken a few minutes to calm down and pull my feet up way above the water that the dock was above. I was wearing a long Maxi dress, so I was actually able to tuck my legs right into my dress quite easily.

"What about how we both kind of count on each other?" Barron asked.

I hadn't really thought about it much until he had mentioned it, but that was very true. Barron and I counted on each other quite a bit. Barron was one of the people who had helped me make it through the hardest time of my life, and he would do anything to make me smile, which is a heavy endeavor because sometimes it takes quite a bit to make me smile. And I know that if I ever need him, he'll be there for me, and I'll be there for him.

"That's a genius idea." I answered with a smile. "To start off what are you most terrified of?" I asked him as I pulled out my small notebook that contains all of the various lyrics I have ever written.

"Um... you have to promise not to laugh." Barron said.

"Barron, I am severely hydrophobic, I have to consciously think about something else whenever I'm in the shower so I won't have a panic attack. Right now I am thinking about writing this song more than the fact that I am sitting on top of water. I'm not going to laugh." I replied with a very serious face.

"That is an excellent point." Barron began with a slight laugh. "The dark. I am terrified of it, just the fact that when it is pitch black you can't see anything has always scared the shit out of me, not very masculine I know, but I've always been terrified of it." He finished with a very serious look.

"That makes sense though. I have any idea. What if for the first verse you sing something about me being afraid of water and you helping me, and I'll sing something about you being afraid of the dark and me helping you, and then one of us can sing something about helping friends in need?" I asked Barron as I jotted all of this down in my notebook.

"That's a really good idea Tess." Barron replied with a smile and he started to fiddle around with cords. "What kind of tone are you thinking?"

"Something soft. Kind of like 'I'm Yours' that kind of coffee house style, but kind of softer, if that makes any sense." I answered. I was focusing now on the fact that I had the premise of the first verse, I just need to make the lyrics work with it.

"Alright. I'm on it." Barron said as he played the cords.

While Barron played around with cords, I kept rearranging words trying to make them work right lyrically. After about fifteen or twenty minutes, I felt happy with my combinations for the first verse and the chorus and I was ready to read them to Barron.

"I think I've got something. Tell me what you think." I began. Barron looked up from the guitar and nodded. "If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea/I'll sail the world to find you/If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see/I'll be the light to guide you/Find out what we're made of/When we are called to help our friends in need/You can count on me like 1,2,3/I'll be there. That's what I've got so far." I finished.

"That's really good Tess! What about for the rest of the chorus something like: And I know when I need to/I can count on you like 4,3,2,1/and you'll be there/because that's what friends are supposed to do/oh yeah?" Barron asked.

"That is almost perfect. Let me tweak." I replied with a smile as I returned to my notebook. Maybe five minutes later, it had been sufficiently tweaked, and I started to speak the lyrics again. "And I know when I need it/I can count on you like 4,3,2/and you'll be there/'cause that's what friends are supposed to do/oh yeah."

"I really like that." Barron answered with a smile. "Now if I can just figure out the chords for the music, we'll be golden, I am almost there, I can feel it." Barron added groaning.

"Ugh, I love music and writing songs, but the frustrating parts, I could really do without." I added groaning along with Barron.

"Oh God, Erik." A voice that I automatically recognized as Dana's moaned.

I felt a confused look fall upon my face, I looked over to Barron and he had an equally confused look on his face as well. Both of us stood up and looked over to where the sound was coming from. In the canoe pile there was Dana and Erik, Dana was making out with Erik like crazy. I couldn't believe it, I always had a feeling that Dana was a bitch, but to cheat on Nate, it was Nate, the sweetest boy on the planet, who just about never smiled, who wrote beautiful music and loved more than any person I know, aside from Mitchie.

"Is this really happening?" I asked Barron almost whispering, so Dana and Erik couldn't hear us. Not that they would've been able to anyway with all of that hardcore making out going on.

"Apparently so. I can't believe it. How anyone could do anything mean to Nate, I don't get, but to cheat on him, that's worse than mean, that's downright evil." Barron replied, whispering as well.

"I'm just glad that I never really liked her, especially because of what I am about to do." I answered. I stood up even more than I had, and before I could stop myself or Barron could stop me, not that he would've I began to shout. "DANA!"

Dana and Erik stopped making out the moment Dana heard her name. Erik looked up, and he seemed to have this look on his face like he just realized what he was doing.

"Hold on a second baby." Dana said to Erik. She promptly pushed him down into the canoes, and walked over to the edge of the dock where I was standing.

Barron gave me an 'I've got your back' look before we went back to looking at his guitar and testing cords, acting almost as if he didn't know what was happening, even though he did.

"What do you want Tess?" Dana asked. Her face looked like she was smelling something disgusting.

"I want to know why you are cheating on Nate." I replied bluntly.

"Really Tess, you want to know why I am cheating on Nate? Why do you care? It's not like you are in love with Nate or anything, it isn't like you telling him that I am cheating on him, is going to break us up." Dana answered with a snide look on her face.

"I want to know why you are cheating on Nate, because Nate is a good friend of mine. I can guarantee you that I am not in love with him, but that does not mean that I don't want to protect him from his bitch of a girl friend that is cheating on him." I answered glaring at Dana, giving her the meanest and most protective look I could muster.

"Well you know what Tess." Dana began as she stepped closer to me on the dock. "Nate knows that I've cheated on him in the past. He has caught me and several guys making out and worse, and he has done nothing about it." Dana continued as she walked closer and closer to me on the dock. "He doesn't care. He loves me so much that he just wants me to be happy. He doesn't give a shit if I cheat on him every which way from Sunday, with however many people I want." Dana said she was now almost right in my face.

"Dana, I don't give a shit what Nate has told you about whether he cares or not. Because I know Nate, he does care, he does give a crap. Nate is one of the most emotional people I know, he doesn't take these things lightly, before you came around last summer, Nate was almost ready to admit that he maybe had feelings for my best friend, and then he meets you and falls head over heels and starts thinking that you're perfect. I don't believe that for one second that you are perfect, and Nate may know that you are cheating on him, but sooner or later, he is going to realize that you are just using him, and he is going to dump you like a sack of hot potatoes." I answered getting into her face a little bit.

"You know what Tess, Nate is going to whatever the Hell is going to do. So tell him if you want to. I don't care. But if you ruin this relationship for me. I will ruin you." Dana finished with an angry look. Before I could retort Dana came at me, and she pushed me back very hard.

I started to panic, I could feel the cold water touch my body and a stream of memories flashed through my mind. All of those times when I was little and had done something wrong and Mom had shoved me under the water in the bath tub, or the pool. The first time Mom tried to teach me how to swim, how she almost drowned me because I was doing something wrong and she got pissed off. All of those painful memories were resurfacing, I tried to control my body's panic, but I couldn't. The water was enveloping my body, and I couldn't even attempt to hold my breath.

I could tell that someone else had broken the surface of the water as it rippled around me as I sunk to the bottom. Strong, slightly familiar arms wrapped around me and pulled me up. The owner of the arms stood up and started to walk. I looked up at the person and opened my eyes, I saw it was Barron. I could tell from my obstructed hearing that he was yelling at Dana about pushing me in. I tried to small at Barron but the moment that I did things got worse. Everything faded to black.

* * *

><p>I was back at my old house. The one that never felt like home. The one that was way too big for just two people to be living in. The house that held so much pain and so many memories.<p>

"Tess sweetie it's so good that you are finally back home. Come on and give your mom a hug." Mom said with her fake smile. I knew this smile well, it was the one that always happened right before she started to hit me, or yell at me, or push me into something, or dunk me into the pool.

"No mom. I am not giving you a hug, I am leaving, this is not home." I replied. I started to inch towards the door. I reached the door and tried to turn the door knob, but it refused to turn. The whole room around me started to contort and Mom started to get bigger as she stood up and walked towards me.

"That is no way to talk to your mother." Mom said as she walked closer and closer towards me.

When she finally reached me, she kicked me hard in the stomach, her stiletto heel making a small cut on my body. The kick had enough force to push me to the ground. I looked up at her, and saw the knife in her hand. She brought it closer and closer to me and I couldn't help but to scream.

"Tess! Tess! Shh... It's okay." Barron's voice said, jolting me out of sleep.

"What, where am I?" I asked in a scared voice.

"You are in your bed in your cabin at Camp Rock. After Dana pushed you into the pond, I got you, and brought you here, on the way over you passed out. You woke up briefly grabbed some pajamas, and got back into bed. You feel asleep again, but before you did you told me not leave." Barron began. "I've been working out the chords to our song." He finished with a smile and held up his guitar.

"That's great Bear. I am so tired, but after a dream like that, I don't think I can fall asleep." I replied sadly.

"Tess you just gave me a genius idea! Just sing your parts for me if you can please." Barron said with a giddy expression on his face. He started to slowly play the guitar, and then he began to sing. "If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea/I would sail the world to find you."

"If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see/I'll be the light to guide you." I sang back softly in my weak and tired voice.

"Find out what we're made of/When we are called to help our friends in need." Barron sang back strongly and comfortingly.

"You can count on me like 1,2,3/I'll be there/And I know when I need it/I can count on you like 4,3,2/And you'll be there/'cause that's what friends are supposed to do oh yeah/ooooh, ooooh, yeah yeah." We sang together. Our voices somehow harmonizing even though my voice was just about dead, somehow our voices found that middle ground and sounded beautiful together.

"If you're tossin' and you're turnin'/and you just can't fall asleep/I'll sing a song beside you." Barron sang and gently stroked my hair comfortingly.

I didn't know what the next line in the song was, we hadn't gotten this far. An idea for a lyric popped into my head, and I just sang it without thinking, "And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me/Every day I will remind you/Find out what we're made of/When we are called to help our friends in need." I sang, my voice slowly growing stronger as I sang more.

"You can count on me like 1,2,3/I'll be there/And I know when I need it/I can count on you like 4,3,2/And you'll be there/'cause that's what friends are supposed to do oh yeah/ooooh, ooooh, yeah yeah/You'll always have my shoulder when you cry/I'll never let you go/Never say goodbye/You can count on me like 1,2,3/I'll be there/And I know when I need it/I can count on you like 4,3,2/And you'll be there/'cause that's what friends are supposed to do oh yeah/ooooh, ooooh/You can count on me 'cause I can count on you." The two of us finally finished singing.

In the very last part of my song my voice had almost gotten back to where it usually was, but it was still weak. I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep.

"We brought you some food." Mitchie said as she and Caitlyn walked in with a small plate of all my favorite foods. Some pasta salad and a slice of cheese pizza, with a glass of Dr. Pepper.

"Thanks guys. I'm not hungry though. I think I'm just going to go back to sleep, I'm really tired." I replied sleepily as I laid back against my pillow and yawned deeply. "Thank you so much Barron." I said to him, looking right into his chocolate brown eyes.

"For what?" He asked me curiously with his usual soft smile.

"For everything." I replied. At this he smiled brighter and larger, which made me smile more. Mitchie and Caitlyn were now eating the food they had brought me on their beds, discussing the songs they we were working on individually with their partners for songwriting class.

"Get some sleep Dove." Barron said as he gently kissed my forehead. "Bye Mitchie, Caitlyn." He said as he exited the cabin.

I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I had someone other than Mitchie, Caitlyn, and Grammy to always, always be there for me. It was on that happy note that I drifted back off into the realm of sleep.

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><p><strong>an: I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, I loved writing it! The song that Barron and Tess 'write' is "Count On Me" by Bruno Mars, I love Bruno Mars (random side note). Thank you to IcePrincess013 (happy belated birthday! hee hee, because I can't wish it to you enough times apparently) and Blueeyedprincess100 for your awesome reviews on the last chapter! Happy Fourth of July to all of my fellow Americans and remember to review if you are reading!**

**xoxo,**

**Lexi**


	5. The Campfire Jam

5. The Campfire Jam:

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves." I sang as I walked around camp early one morning playing my guitar.

Brown had thought it would be a good idea this year to come up with unique ways to wake up all the campers every morning for announcements. We had already been woken up this summer by Shane screeching a death metal song, Mitchie singing off key in Spanish, Caitlyn attempting to play the drums, Sander and Ella dancing with tap shoes on a moving wooden cart, Nate playing his guitar and his drums way too loudly, Jason cawing like a bird, Peggy rocking out to a guitar and then singing way off key, and Dana playing her piano (that one did not work very well), to name a few. This morning it was my turn, and I knew one of the most efficient ways to get everyone up for announcements was to annoy the crap out of them.

"99 bottles of pop on the wall, 99 bottles of pop, take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of pop on the wall." Barron sang as he passed me walking with his own guitar.

I laughed as we passed each other, which messed up my singing for a moment, but I went back to it as quickly as I could. Barron told me the other day that he would be joining me this morning, I had not expected him, however to singing '99 bottles of pop on the wall'.

"TESS! WE'VE BEEN AWAK FOR AN HOUR, CAN YOU STOP WALKING BY THIS PART OF THE CAMP!" A voice shouted from a nearby cabin.

"You know the rules, I'm supposed to sing until everyone gets up and to the mess hall." I sang back loudly at the cabin before returning to singing the 'I know a song that get's on everybody's nerves' song. I then proceeded to pass this particular cabin a dozen more times in the next ten minutes singing even louder than I had before, it only took them five to get the message, but I continued anyway.

After about twenty minutes of me and Barron's annoying singing, everyone was up and out of their cabins, and following us singing along to the Mess Hall. Once we arrived all of us sat down and tried to get some breakfast before announcements began.

After everyone was settled and slightly fed, Brown came out to make the days announcements. I was still getting over the entertainment of having my breakfast served to me today by Shane, who was working in the kitchen for a few meals this summer to try and earn some major points with Mrs. Torres.

"Good morning everyone." Brown said in his usual upbeat and energetic tone in his accent.

"Morning Brown." We all groaned, well most of us groaned, I have always been a morning person and I had no problem being awake at early hours of the morning.

"We've got a fun Friday ahead of us, tonight we've got our annual camp fire jam!" Brown began, everyone cheered at this, excited for the evening's festivities and great food (Mrs. Torres always goes crazy with the quality, quantity, and variety of the food on jam nights). "And tomorrow we have a great movie night planned for everyone, on Sunday we have the traditional pre-Fourth of July bonfire, and on Monday we have our annual Fourth of July celebration, including fireworks, a cook out, games, and a huge bonfire that lasts all day. That's all the announcements for today, I'll see all of you at the campfire jam tonight!" Brown said finishing the announcements.

We all applauded politely and went back to eating our breakfasts. The scrambled eggs with cheese I was eating were absolutely delicious and I was enjoying them perfectly until Shane told me that he had made all the eggs. Then I started to eat a lot slower and be more hesitant to eat the super mushy parts. That boy may be able to sing, play guitar, play tambourine, and write songs, but when it comes to cooking, I do not trust him.

* * *

><p>"Who's up next?" I asked Caitlyn.<p>

A bunch of kids in our songwriting class had already performed their duets for the jam, and a lot of other kids had done dance type things, and we even had a group of people doing improv, which had gone really well, accoridng to Shane, Nate, and Jason, Brown was considering adding a Musical Theater program on to Camp Rock's agenda.

The only people left in our songwriting class to sing were Mitchie and Jason, Caitlyn and Shane, Barron and I, and Dana and Erik. I was anxious and nervous to see Dana and Erik sing. Barron had told Nate what we had seen at the docks while writing our song, and even though Nate believed him, he still hasn't done anything about it. I only hope that he realizes what a bad influence Dana is on him before it's too late.

"Mitchie and Jason are up next. I think they are getting ready right now." Cait answered with a smile. "I think Shane and I are going after them." She added.

I looked up at the amphitheater and saw that sure enough Mitchie and Jason were preparing to sing their song. Their outfits were ridiculous, they had insisted upon matching and were both wearing baggy pants, t-shirts, and trucker hats, I could only hope that it was part of the performance.

"Barron and I are going after you two I think. He went to go get the guitars." I replied, explaining Barron's absence at the same time.

"So you guys are just going to do the acoustic approach then?" Caitlyn asked.

All week Barron and I had debated whether or not we were just going to sit their and sing the song with out guitars, or have the band behind us and just sing, or some combination of those two.

"Yeah. It makes the most sense, it'll sound pretty and it fits more with the theme of the song." I answered with a smile.

"Alright, next up we have Jason and Mitchie singing their own original song, 'Different Side of Me'. Enjoy!" Brown said over the microphone.

Mitchie and Jason stood on the stage with their own individual microphones and cued the band to start. After a few moments of playing they began to sing.

"_I'd be living the dream  
>If my life switched with the football team<br>I'd be praised by my friends  
>If I was driving a Mercedes Benz"<em> Jason started to sing.

"_Do I know?_

_What do I know?" _Mitchie sang, adding her own voice to the song.

"_I wanna be a rock star, a superhero  
>Living the dream, doing the things that I always wanted<br>I wanna see my face on the TV  
>With my picture on the cover for my friends to see a different side of me" <em>Mitchie and Jason sang together goofing off and shedding some of their big baggy clothes.

Jason was now wearing a pair of pants and a shirt with a scarf and vest that was totally and completely him. Mitchie on the other hand was now wearing a short glittery tank dress with a pair of old ratty high top converses. They both looked so happy and were playing off the fact that their song was about showing a different side of them.

"_I'm barely five foot eight  
>No cheerleader but I can roller skate<br>Not the biggest sports fan  
>But the band drives a mean mini van"<em> Mitchie sang with a huge smile on her face, playing off of the crowd's energy.

"_Do I know?_

_What do I know?"_ Jason sang cheerily.

"_I wanna be a rock star, a superhero  
>Living the dream, doing the things that I always wanted<br>I wanna see my face on the TV  
>With my picture on the cover for my friends to see a different side of me" <em>Jason and Mitchie sang together goofing off all the while.

"_I know everything is gonna change for me  
>If I can make it then you'll see that there's a different side of me<br>I won't be waiting for my life to pass ahead of me  
>So I know you'll see a different side of me"<em> Mitchie belted out.

"_I wanna be a rock star, a superhero  
>Living the dream, doing the things that I always wanted<br>I wanna be, a rock star, a superhero  
>Living the dream, doing the things that I always wanted<br>I wanna be a rock star, a superhero  
>Living the dream, doing the things that I always wanted<br>I wanna see my face on the TV  
>With my picture on the cover but you'll never have to wonder<br>'Cause I'm not like all the others but my friends will see a different side of me  
>A different side of me<br>A different side of me  
>A different side of me<br>A different side of me" _Mitchie and Jason finished singing together happily. After they finished singing they clasped hands and bowed, replaced the microphones, and ran off the stage.

That song was so goofy and perfect for Mitchie and Jason. Everyone was applauding them like crazy and laughing. When Mitchie came off of stage she headed straight towards us, giving Shane a quick kiss, and Caitlyn a huge before they headed on stage to set up for their song. I gave her a hug the moment I saw here and told Jason and her how great of a job they did.

"That was fantastic! Next up we have Caitlyn and Shane singing their original 'Evacuate the Dance Floor'." Brown said energetically through the microphone at the same moment that Barron arrived behind me with our guitars.

"You have some excellent timing." I said with a laugh as I grabbed my guitar from him.

The two of us looked up along with Mitchie, Jason, Ella, Peggy, Sander, and Nate, Dana was absent and was apparently working on some last touches of her song with Erik. Barron and I both though otherwise, and we both knew that Nate probably thought otherwise as well, but he refused to do anything about it.

"_(Oh)  
>Turn up the music<br>Let´s get out on the floor  
>I like to move it<br>Come and give me some more  
>Watch me getting physical<br>Out of control, Ah  
>There's people watching me, Ah<br>I never miss a beat" _ Shane began to sing.

"_Still the night, kill the lights  
>Feel it under your skin<br>Time is right, keep it tight  
>'Cause it's pulling you in<br>Wrap it up you can't stop  
>'Cause it feels like an overdose<br>(feels like an overdose)"_Caitlyn sang. The two of them weren't just singing they were dancing around the stage and it looked like they were having a great time.

"_Oh, oh  
>Evacuate the dancefloor<br>Oh, oh  
>I'm infected by the sound<br>Oh, oh  
>Stop this beat is killing me<br>Hey Dr. DJ let the music take me underground  
>Oh, oh<br>Evacuate the dancefloor  
>Oh, oh<br>I'm infected by the sound  
>Oh, oh<br>Stop this beat is killing me  
>Hey Dr. DJ come burn this place right down to the ground<br>(Oh)" _The two of them sang together, dancing their way right across the stage and having a crazy good time doing it. They even had some of the more dance-inclined girls in the background doing the same steps as them. I could easily tell that they had written this song in less than an hour and had spent all week choreographing. It was the perfect song for both of them, because they both love to dance.

" _My body's aching  
>System overload<br>Temperature's rising  
>I'm about to explode<br>Watch me I'm intoxicated  
>Taking the show, Ah<br>It`s got me hypnotized, Ah  
>Everybody step aside" <em>Caitlyn sang belting out every note. I always tended to forget that Caitlyn actually has an amazing voice, because she just about never sings. I know for a fact that she would not be singing on the amphitheater's stage right now if it wasn't an assignment for class.

"_Still the night, kill the lights  
>Feel it under your skin<br>Time is right, keep it tight  
>'Cause it's pulling you in<br>Wrap it up you can't stop  
>'Cause it feels like an overdose<br>(feels like an overdose)"_ Shane sang as he continued to dance. I couldn't help but to notice however, that the whole time he was singing he was just looking right into Mitchie's eyes.

"_Oh, oh  
>Evacuate the dancefloor<br>Oh, oh  
>I'm infected by the sound<br>Oh, oh  
>Stop this beat is killing me<br>Hey Dr. DJ let the music take me underground  
>Oh, oh<br>Evacuate the dancefloor  
>Oh, oh<br>I'm infected by the sound  
>Oh, oh<br>Stop this beat is killing me  
>Hey Dr. DJ come burn this place right down to the ground<br>(Oh)" _They sang together.

" _Come on and evacuate  
>Feel the club is heating up" <em>Shane sang.

" _Move on and accelerate  
>Push it to the top" <em>Caitlyn added in, her voice and Shane's had continually gotten stronger throughout the song. I could almost guarantee that Shane and Caitlyn had made a bit before this to see who could dance harder and sing stronger throughout the song. They are quite predictable when it comes to silly bets like that.

"_Come on and evacuate_

_Feel the club is heating up?"_

"_Move on accelerate,_

_You don't have to be afraid."_

"_Oh, oh  
>Evacuate the dancefloor<br>Oh, oh  
>I'm infected by the sound<br>Oh, oh  
>Stop this beat is killing me<br>Hey Dr. DJ let the music take me underground_

_Oh, oh  
>Evacuate the dancefloor<br>Oh, oh  
>I'm infected by the sound<br>Oh, oh  
>Stop this beat is killing me<br>Hey Dr. DJ come burn this place right down to the ground" _Shane and Caitlyn finished together dancing like crazy all across the stage.

Everyone applauded them like crazy and instead of bowing they danced and did a dancing bow thing. After they finished they ran off the stage. Barron and I were up next and we only had time to nod at Shane and Caitlyn in congratulations, we had a stage to set up.

Barron and I both put our guitars down hastily once we were on the amphitheater's stage. The two of us then ran (which is not easy to do in four inch heels) backstage to get the two stools that we had placed their earlier. Once each of us had a stool we ran back on stage and placed them down in front of the two long necked microphones that the techies had placed there after Caitlyn and Shane finished. I picked up my guitar and sat down on my stool. I looked over and saw that Barron was sitting down his stool as well, and was adjusting his guitar.

"That was just superb. I always knew my nephew could dance, but that was something else yeah?" Brown began laughing slightly. "Next up we have Barron and Tess singing 'Count On Me,' and after them we only have one more performance! Here they are!" Brown announced and then ran off the stage.

Barron and I looked at each other for a moment. The two of us started to count to three, and on three we both started to play our guitars.

"_If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea  
>I'll sail the world to find you" <em>Barron sang as he played his guitar, his eyes locked on mine.

"_If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see  
>I'll be the light to guide you" <em>I sang back smiling at the silly face that Barron was making at me as we both played our guitars.

"_Find out what we're made of  
>When we are called to help our friends in need"<em>

"_You can count on me like 1, 2, 3  
>I'll be there<br>And I know when I need it  
>I can count on you like 4, 3, 2<br>And you'll be there  
>'cause that's what friends are supposed to do oh yeah<br>ooooooh, oooohhh yeah yeah" _Barron and I sang together, ignoring the crowd and just focusing on each other.

"_If you're tossin' and you're turnin  
>and you just can't fall asleep<br>I'll sing a song beside you"_ Barron sang. As he sang those lines I couldn't help but remember how the rest of this song was written, and that brought a smile to my face.

" _And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me  
>Every day I will remind you<br>Find out what we're made of  
>When we are called to help our friends in need" <em>I sang back, my smile from before still on my face.

"_You can count on me like 1, 2, 3  
>I'll be there<br>And I know when I need it  
>I can count on you like 4, 3, 2<br>And you'll be there  
>'cause that's what friends are supposed to do oh yeah<br>ooooooh, oooohhh yeah yeah  
>You'll always have my shoulder when you cry<br>I'll never let go  
>Never say goodbye<br>You know you can count on me like 1, 2, 3  
>I'll be there<br>And I know when I need it  
>I can count on you like 4, 3, 2<br>And you'll be there  
>'cause that's what friends are supposed to do oh yeah<br>ooooooh, oooohhh  
>You can count on me 'cause I can count on you" <em>Barron and I finished singing together, smiling at each other and giving each other a short hug before Barron bowed and I curtseyed (I would've bowed but my skirt was a little too short for that).

The two of us ran off stage with our guitars, Barron was jokingly helping me off stage by holding out his hand to me and I took it laughing. The two of us continued to hold hands in a completely platonic way as we walked back over to everyone else. As we headed back to our friends we ran into Dana and Erik, literally, Dana basically pushed me over completely and Barron had to help me up. Barron and headed over to our friends right as Brown announced Erik and Dana.

Once we were with everyone I inched over to Mitchie and Caitlyn. They had seen what had happened and were fixing my hair which had gotten rumpled when I fell.

"I really do not like that girl." I said as Dana sang with Erik.

The two of them were singing a song called 'Dirty Little Secret', well to be more accurate Dana was singing every word as loud as she possibly could and Erik was doing small parts and back up singing. I got the feeling from watching him sing however that he had been the one to write the song not Dana. He just had the look of a songwriter.

"And she is cheating on Nate, and he knows it, and is doing nothing about it. She is just bad news." I added as she sang.

"What!" Caitlyn answered in a shocked tone.

Even though Nate is dating Dana, Caitlyn still has a huge crush on him, she has for years, I remembered her having a crush on Nate way back when Nate, Shane, and Jason were all still attending Camp Rock, before they got their record deal.

"Cait, calm down, no one is supposed to know obviously. But the other day when Dana pushed me into the lake, it was because I confronted her about her making out with Erik while Barron and I were working on our song." I replied as quietly as I could. Some how Mitchie had managed to get Shane to hang out with the boys plus Ella and Peggy, so he wasn't overhearing this. But at Caitlyn's shouting he had turned to look and see what was going on.

"Wait, Nate knows that she is cheating on him, and he is doing nothing about it? That bitch." Caitlyn replied in an attempt to whisper that failed miserably, which just got everyone else looking at the three of us.

Thankfully Barron realized what we were talking about and distracted everyone else by say something else and stopped looking at the three of us.

"Yes. I know. Barron tried to talk some sense into him and it didn't work. I think we may have to stage an intervention." I added.

"Don't worry, I'll get the inside scoop from Shane and we can figure out something to do by the fourth." Mitchie said with her seldomly seen evil smile/smirk.

"That look is scary." I said matter-of-factly as the three of us forced ourselves to watch the last few moments of Dana and Erik's performance.

"_The way he feels inside"_ Dana sang as seductively as she could muster.

"_Inside"_ Erik echoed as he played his electric guitar.

"_Those thoughts I can't deny."_

"_Deny."_

"_These sleeping dogs won't lie."_

"_Won't lie."_

"_And now I try to lie_

_It's eating me apart_

_Trace this life back." _Dana sang walking right into the spotlight and knocking Erik completely out of the light.

Thank God for the tech guys they made sure to add another spotlight on the spot and put it on Erik. As much as I was disappointed in Erik for what he was doing with Dana, I had this feeling about him that he was actually a great guy, just one caught in a bad situation.

"_I'll keep you my dirty little secret."_ They both sang together, Dana's voice overshadowing Erik's by so much that you could barely hear him.

"_Dirty little secret."_ Erik echoed as he looked out to the crowd and played his guitar.

"_Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret."_

"_Just another regret."_

"_I'll keep you my dirty little secret."_

"_Dirty little secret."_

"_My dirty little secret  
>Dirty little secret<br>Dirty little secret  
>Who has to know?<br>Who has to know?" _The two of them finished and bowed. Dana blew Nate a kiss after bowing, and I felt like I was going to puke I could tell by the look on Caitlyn's face that she felt the same way.

"Yes Dana, you do have a dirty little secret." Caitlyn began slowly whispering so only Mitchie and I could hear. "And everyone needs to know." She finished with a smirk.

Mitchie and I laughed as if it was just a joking type thing that Caitlyn was doing, but we both knew that she was being completely serious, and to be perfectly honest, when Caitlyn is pissed off at someone, and has a valid reason for it, it is scary as hell. And from what I've heard, Hell is a pretty scary place.

* * *

><p><strong>an: oh my goodness that chapter was long. I blame all of the singing. I was orignially going to break this up into two chapters but I decided against it. And yes the next (at least two, possibly three) chapters will circle around Fourth of July, the reason that those chapters didn't come out on the weekend of Fourth of July is that I didn't come up with the idea to do anything related to them until the Fourth of July, and I don't update a chapter until I have written the chapter after it. The songs used in this chapter were "Different Side of Me" by Allstar Weekend, "Evacuate the Dancefloor" by Cascada, "Count On Me" by Bruno Mars, and "Dirty Little Secret "by All American Rejects. That's all. I hope y'all enjoyed this! AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**

**xoxo,**

**Lexi**

**p.s. this chapter is coming out earlier than I planned, I am going on to the beach, we are leaving tomorrow, and will be gone for a week, I won't be able to write until I get back on next Sunday (the 17th) so I am updating now, and just giving you guys something to tide you over until I can get back to writing. :)**


	6. Nothing I Do Better Than Revenge

7. Nothing I Do Better Than Revenge:

**a/n: hey y'all just a quick author's note at the top, this chapter has quite a bit of cursing in it, well just from one character, usually there aren't too many bad words in this, but one character drops a couple of f-bombs, if you are offended I'm sorry, I personally curse like a pirate but I try to keep it out of my writing unless it fits the character, which in this case and this situation I believe it does. That's all, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p>It was Saturday night, nearly Eight O'clock at night, and I was wearing pajamas. Well, as close to pajamas as I wear, I usually sleep in a sports bra and a pair of boxers, but for this and the Pajama jam, I wear the closest thing to pajamas I own. They consisted of a way too big t-shirt and a pair of boxes, perfectly appropriate for a movie night that was sure to end up being all nighter.<p>

Every year without fail the same three things happen on the three days leading up to and including the Fourth of July at Camp Rock. The first is always a camp wide movie marathon that ends up in an all nighter, or the whole camp falling asleep outside in sleeping bags. The second is a huge bonfire, which always happens the day before the Fourth. This usually ends up being an all nighter as well, as everyone has been sleeping all day and has all of this energy at night. The third is the actual Fourth of July celebration, including games, a barbeque, another bonfire, some more movies, and huge fire works show on the lake. The festivities go on all day, and afterward, all anyone wants to do is sleep.

"Let's go, I wanna watch some movies!" Ella said in her usual hyperactive voice to Mitchie, Caitlyn, Peggy, and I.

Ella was wearing a pair of short soffies, and a black tank top. Her hair was in pig tails that just made her look like a little kid, which with the goofy smile she had on her face, made her look even more like a little kid.

"We know Ella, we know." Peggy said with a soft laugh. Peggy was wearing a pair of long plain pajama pants and a loose fitting shirt.

"You guys can go ahead. We just have to watch with Mitchie for Shane or she will shun us all." I said with a laugh.

Mitchie, Caitlyn, and I were all sitting on Mitchie's bed. Mitchie was wearing a large Connect 3 concert t-shirt with a pair of long pajama pants that had hearts all over them. Caitlyn was wearing a large over the shoulder sweatshirt and a pair of boxer shorts. Cailtyn was still angry at Dana and the fact that she would even cheat on Nate, not to mention Cait is still planning some huge revenge on Dana.

"Come on Peggy." Ella whined at her best friend.

"We'll see you guys down there." Peggy said with a laugh as she was dragged out of the cabin by her eccentric best friend.

"When is Shane getting here anyway?" I asked Mitchie curiously.

"That is an excellent question, I have no idea. I just know that he said he would be here soon, with Jason, Dana, and Nate." Mitchie said, forgetting for a moment that any mention of Dana starts Caitlyn off on a tangent.

"That little bitch is going to pay one day." Caitlyn said snidely with a pissed of and slightly evil look.

Mitchie and I just looked at each other and tried to think of someway to get Caitlyn off this subject, fate however, was acting against us, as a minute later Shane, Jason, Nate, and Dana walked into the cabin.

"Mitch you look adorable!" Shane said with a huge smile as he walked over, gave his girlfriend a hug and a light peck on the mouth.

"Thanks Shane." Mitchie said blushing side ways, as he pulled her into his chest.

Shane was wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of long plaid pajama pants. Jason was wearing a shirt that said 'BIRDS' in all capital letters and a pair of gray sweatpants. Nate was wearing a tight fitting black t-shirt, and a pair of royal blue sweatpants. Dana was wearing of all things a lace night gown. The night gown had spaghetti straps, way too much lace and cut right above her knee, it was a little risque even by Dana's standards.

"Can we go to the movie now? I hate waiting for people." Dana said looking directly at us and rolling her eyes. She was looking mainly at Caitlyn and I, and barely at Mitchie.

"Yes Dana we can go now." Nate said in a slightly exasperated tone. Nate and Dana led the party followed by Jason, Shane, Mitchie, and finally Caitlyn and I who were in the back.

The seven of us walked out of the cabin and headed down to the amphitheater. Shane and Mitchie were being super coupley, but kindly listening to Jason go on and on about birds, Nate and Dana however were being cuddly, but not as over cuddly as they usually are. Caitlyn and I were hanging back behind everyone and she had been making comments about Dana for the last five or so minutes of walking.

"Is it just me or does Dana never smile?" Caitlyn asked me.

"I had never noticed that, but now that I think about it. You're right." I answered.

Mitchie hated to say anything bad about anyone, so she never really joined in on the 'Dana bashing', I however have no qualms saying something bad about someone if they deserve it. I am a brutally honest person, and I always have been, even when I was mean to people, it was me being honest, the only reason that I told everyone about Mitchie's mom being a cook, not a TV executive, was because I found out, and wanted everyone to know the truth, not simply because I was jealous of her talent.

"She asked to borrow my lip gloss the other day during dance, and she never gave it back too." Caitlyn added as if this was a capital offense.

"But you didn't like the lip gloss you had on you the other day..." I answered remember the dance class this event had occurred during.

"That's besides the point." Caitlyn answered.

"Caity, Tessie, come on let's hurry, according to Jason they are going to start Iron Man in two minutes!" Mitchie shouted back at us.

"Coming!" We both answered together and started to walk a lot faster than we had before.

* * *

><p>The movie night had ended in the whole camp asleep in the area around the amphitheater, well everyone except Barron and I. The two of us had decided to pull an all nighter no matter what, which become not a problem after Barron and I drank two red bulls a piece. The sun was just starting to rise and we were just finishing watching 'Goldfinger.' I knew that the moment this movie was over I was going to crash and not wake up until probably four or five o'clock, I could feel the energy the red bull had given me draining... fast.<p>

"I never would've pegged you as a James Bond chick." Barron said to me with a laugh as the ending credits started to make their way across the huge projector screen.

"I don't think most people would." I began with a laugh. "Truth is, when I was seven, I was in the media room of Mom's house, and I found the boxed set of all the movies up until that time, they were my Dad's and I started watching them right away, whenever I watch them I feel a piece of them." I finished.

Dad had died in that car crash when I was so young, I barely remembered him, and watching any James Bond movie made me feel like a part of him was with me. If I could ever somehow star in one, or do the opening song for one, it would, in my mind be the ultimate dedication to him.

"I don't think that there is a Dad in the world that doesn't like James Bond." Barron answered with a laugh. "Dad and I go to the midnight showing for every single one."

"I will have to join you two on that some day if you don't mind. I've never seen a midnight showing, the closest I've been is when my nanny convinced Mom to take me to the red carpet premiere of 'Casino Royale' when I was ten." I answered with a smile.

Barron and his Dad were so close, actually, Barron and his whole family are so close. He has three older sisters, and one younger sister, and he can tell you exactly what is happening in each of their lives verbatim. His mom and Dad were high school sweet hearts who made it through college, and are still together and going strong. They are all so close, and I envy him so much because of that, Gram and I may be close, but one person doesn't take the place of how close my family could've been, if Dad and Grandad hadn't been in that car crash. Sometimes I imagine what my life would've been like if Dad and Grandad hadn't died in the car crash, Dad would've gained full custody of me, and we would've gone to live at the beach with Gram and Grandad. Dad would've fallen in love again, and I would have a ton of younger siblings, and most importantly, I wouldn't be a victim of domestic violence, and if I had still gone to Camp Rock I would've kept my friend the whole time. I try not to think about that too much though, because whenever I do it makes me feel terrible.

"Well now that one of my favorite Bond films is over, I am going to crash." I said with a laugh and a smile to Barron.

"Good morning Dove." Barron said with a smile.

"Good morning Bear." I replied as I laid back on my sleeping bag and quickly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

><p>"BEAR! Come on!" I said in my super whiney voice later that day.<p>

The bonfire was about to begin and Mitchie, Peggy, Ella, Caitlyn, and I were waiting outside of the boys cabin for Shane, Jason, Sander, and Barron. Nate and Dana were going to meet us at the bonfire.

Barron and I decided, I don't know how this decision came about, it just did one day, that we were going to come up with nicknames for each other, that for us are just like, oh my goodness you are one of my best friends, but can also be used to annoy all of our friends because they sound like the nicknames that couples give each other. I have since called Barron, Bear whenever he does something really sweet, and whenever I want to annoy the hell out of our friends. Barron has since called me Dove, short for Turtle Dove (one of the rules for coming up with the nicknames was they had to start with the same letter that is found at the beginning of both of our names, respectively).

"That is so fucking annoying." Caitlyn said. Ever since yesterday, when Nate and Dana had ended up sleeping in the same sleeping bag, Caitlyn commented that 'Dana is better known for the things she does on the mattress', she has been an increasingly bad mood, which for her means cursing like no other.

"That's another dollar in the jar." I said in an annoying voice as I held up a pickle jar that Mitchie and I had gotten from the kitchen.

Caitlyn had been dropping f-bombs left and right ever since I had gotten up at two o'clock this afternoon, Mitchie and I didn't mind the cursing, but we figured we might as well profit from it, so we made our very own cursing jar. Every time Caitlyn drops an f-bomb, says shit, or bitch, she has to put a dollar in the jar, the two of us are splitting the final total.

"I hate you guys." Caitlyn said as she put a dollar in the jar that Mitchie was holding. The jar was already half way full with dollars.

"Love you too Caity-kins!" Mitchie and I said together with devilish smiles, using the nickname she hated the most.

"DOVE! QUIT COMPLAINING! WE'RE COMING!" Barron shouted at me whining slightly.

"A little bit delayed don't ya think?" I shouted back at him.

"Shut up." Barron began. "Oh and I'm sticking my tongue out at you!" He added.

"And I am shaking my head in disgrace at you." I answered as I shook my head back and forth trying to suppress a smile that was growing on my lips.

"You are a poop, you know that right?" Barron asked as he and the boys exited the cabin and started to walk with us to where the bonfire was taking place, on the beach.

"Why, yes, yes I do." I replied with a smile and a laugh.

Barron always calls me a poop, for no apparent reason. It used to annoy me, but now I just accept it, and when starts to annoy me, I just call him a little shit, and that tends to shut him up. Saying 'Bear' in the whiny tone I did moments ago works pretty well too.

"Look Shane, it's Tesron!" Mitchie said with a laugh as she pointed to Barron and I walking next to each other.

"Shut up Smitchie." Barron and I both shouted at them.

Mitchie for some reason has gotten it into her head that Barron and I are meant to be more than friends and are going to get together, as evident by her, 'happily ever after' plan, and in her calling us: "Tesron" pronounced like "Zefron." Because of this Barron and I only refer to Shane and Mitchie as Smitchie when they are together and the two of us are together. We really do it with Mitchie when she is next to anyone, we've called her Caithie (her and Caitlyn), Mitcher (her and Sander), Nitchie (her and Nate), Jatchie (her and Jason), Mella (her and Ella), Miggy (her and Peggy), and countless others that I can't think of at the moment.

"Touche." She said before turning back around and walking with Shane to the shore of the lake.

It took us all about seven minutes to walk from the boys cabin to the shore of the lake. I had learned in the past week or so that I am fine around the lake, as long as I don't get too close to it, think about going in it, or am forced to go in it by anyone.

The bonfires were being set up when we arrived, various counselors and campers lighting the wood on fire for the three large bonfires that had been set up on the beach. The nine of us found a bonfire that had already been lit and had no people sitting around it and sat down. The best thing about the bonfire day is that people tell terrible ghost stories that aren't even scary, they sing silly songs, we eat way too many s'mores, and it gives us all just a chance to act like we are normal teenagers, not teenagers at an exclusive camp for the furtherance of careers in the music and dance industries, which is really what Fourth of July weekend is about every year.

"What the fuck is she wearing?" Caitlyn asked me in a whispered tone, as she put a dollar in the curse jar that Mitchie was still holding.

I looked at Cait confused, trying to figure out who she was talking about, it was then that I saw Dana. She was wearing a short black dress that looked as if it was made out of satin, the dress looked old and was probably vintage, it was also, to say the least, revealing, and not bonfire appropriate.

"When will she learn that wearing vintage dresses doesn't give you dignity?" Caitlyn asked my rhetorically as everyone politely greeted Dana and Nate and started to roast marshmallows.

* * *

><p><strong>an: yay the chapters over! I am not really happy with how this chapter turned out it seems kind of strange to me, like I didn't really know where I was going with it... so I apologize for that. Next chapter is fourth of July which is going to be good, lots of random Dana drama. I think one of the reasons that I am not completely happy with this chapter is because it's sole purpopse is to show things that Dana does that reflect the lyrics of the song "Better Than Revenge" by Taylor Swift. Well I hope y'all enjoyed it, and review please. :)**

**xoxo,**

**Lexi**


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